This was never meant to be
All the signs were there to see
From the first moment that we met I knew
This was never meant to be

This was always doomed to fail
From the moment we set sail
All our instincts told us we were wrong
This was never meant to be

But soon we were enraptured in love's dance
When the dance ended I found
I couldn't live without you
And now one of my dreams is sad embers
Here in the cold of December
And now you're in the arms of someone else
I always knew that

This was always second best
Our love would fall at the first test
Common sense would tell us we were wrong
This was never meant to be

This was never meant to last
We drank our cup of love too fast
From the first moment that we met I knew
Now Miss, from our first kiss
I tell you, this was never meant to be

General CommentPerhaps unrequited love figured in Trudie’s film—something her characters were doing ... but just messing around, I began thinking of songwriters and their motivation for writing. Must be tough at times to write about what isn’t likely to happen to you because Sting has probably had more experience elbowing past women who wouldn’t mind his attention than pining away for those he can’t have—not exactly the best premise for a good song. Still strange things can happen and if this was the case—I don’t seriously believe it is—the situation would be splendid motivation for writing songs as well as an ideal challenge for someone so gifted by life, he can basically have anything he wants. What do you give a man who has everything?—something he can’t have quite so easily. It would seem to be the perfect gift and certainly one designed to keep a man’s head above water while swimming through the at times—precarious straits of fame.

General CommentLooking at the song from another perspective, I think some love affairs are doomed from the start and yet they sputter—offering what I’ve never managed to understand other than grief. What can grief offer? Perhaps it is just understanding what it feels like so we don’t naively treat the hearts of others we love carelessly.